I can’t get this question out of my head: Who is Patricia Jannuzzi? These last few weeks, we’ve seen a lot of religious organizations publicly wrestling with gay rights. The Mormon Church authorized new protections for gay people, while attempting to protect religious believers, too. A rapidly dwindling denomination of Presbyterians decided to embrace gay marriage. San Francisco’s City Church, the largest evangelical megachurch, embraced gay marriage for its congregants. Cardinal Dolan was the grand marshal of the first St. Patrick’s Day parade that permitted people to march with LGBT banners. Some of these churches are discarding ancient Christian moral...

Former CIA director says Obama is 'scared' to call ISIS terrorists 'Islamic' after FBI director wasn't invited to extremist summit – but Russia's secret police chief was! Former CIA director James Woolsey said Thursday that President Obama 'looks scared' to called members of Middle Eastern terrorist groups 'Islamic,' just hours after the conclusion of a White House 'Countering VIolent Extremism' summit that studiously avoided pinning terrorism on Islamists. Sitting FBI director James Comey was not invited to the event, but his counterpart from Russia – Aleksandr Bortnikov, the director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) – attended. The FSB...

RANCHO MIRAGE, California (AP) — A White House summit this week on countering violent extremism will not focus exclusively on threats from the Islamic State group, senior administration officials said Monday. While the militant group, which has killed several Americans and others it had been holding hostage, poses a near-term threat to the United States, one of three officials previewing the summit for reporters on Monday said violent extremists "come in all shapes and sizes." The three-day conference will highlight both domestic and international efforts to prevent extremists and their supporters from radicalizing, recruiting and inspiring others, particularly disaffected young...

While Scoop has done a good job of debunking the rumor that Palin said she was interested in running for the presidency in 2016 already, some are saying she hinted at it in this speech. Whether she did or not, she packed it full of puns and zingers and really pumped up the crowd.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) delivers remarks at the Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines. He talks about his efforts to reform public sector unions in his state, and the resistance he encountered.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un said he is open to more talks with his South Korea counterpart. In somewhat of a New Year's resolution, the leader said he is open to the discussions or even a summit - a statement welcomed by Seoul, the capital of South Korea, which in turn urged the North to take concrete steps towards normalisation of relations. Kim's call for improving inter-Korea relations in his New Year speech comes as Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, faces heightened criticism over its human rights record.

VATICAN CITY - Tackling the problem of climate change is a serious ethical and moral responsibility, Pope Francis told negotiators from around the world meeting for a climate summit in Lima, Peru. "The time to find global solutions is running out. We can find adequate solutions only if we act together and unanimously," he said in a written message to Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Peru's minister of the environment and host president of the 20th UN Climate Change Conference. Thousands of negotiators from 195 countries gathered for the meeting in Lima Dec. 1-12 to hammer out details of a new international agreement...

Russian FM: Putin ready for summit with N.K. leader Published : 2014-11-21 09:28 Updated : 2014-11-21 09:28 Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Moscow's top diplomat said Thursday after holding talks with Kim's special envoy. Russia confirmed that it is ready for contact with North Korea at various levels, including the highest level, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency whether his discussions with the North's special envoy, Choe Ryong-hae, included the possibility of Kim's visit to Russia. Lavrov also said that the...

A huge security operation involving 9,000 British police officers will secure a luxury Welsh golf resort hosting a NATO summit later this week, officials said Tuesday. Officers deployed across the golf course at the Celtic Manor Resort, in Newport, and along a 13-kilometre (eight-mile) steel fence around the site in anticipation of the arrival of 67 world leaders for crisis talks on Russia's role in the war in Ukraine. US President Barack Obama is attending the meeting of the military alliance and security is tight, not least because Britain last week raised its terrorism threat level.

"President Barack Obama drew the diplomatic line somewhere at the first ever U.S-Africa summit at the White House this week by not inviting Zimbabwe’s brutal dictator Robert Mugabe. But the guest list still included several other African leaders with only slightly better human rights records. The White House promoted the summit as the largest-ever gathering of African leaders in the United States, with more than 50 countries represented. The red carpet was rolled out for Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who shot or jailed virtually all his political opponents, Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh, who threatened to ‘cut off the head’...

A widening outbreak of deadly Ebola fever is threatening to overshadow next week's summit between African leaders and President Obama. The three-day conference will bring nearly 50 African officials to Washington, D.C. for an unprecedented gathering that officials said could be a turning point in U.S.-Africa relations. But now, Obama administration officials are competing with increasingly dire news out of West Africa, where Ebola is ravaging populations in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. At least two African leaders will forgo the conference as a result with the death toll topping 700. And while the event's agenda has not changed, President...

President Obama will bring athletes, coaches, academics and parents to the White House later this month for a summit on youth sports safety and the dangers of concussions, an administration official said Thursday. "As both a parent and an avid sports fan, the president loves and appreciates the role that sports play in the lives of young people, and his administration is committed to helping ensure that children continue to be active and play sports safely," the official said in a statement. At the forum, the president will argue for a "team approach" to preventing and treating concussions, the White...

(Reuters) - A U.S. food safety summit in Maryland earlier this month has become a cautionary tale after more than 100 attendees came down with suspected food poisoning. Most of those affected complained of diarrhea, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said in a statement. Local health officials have heard from about 400 of the 1,300 attendees and are at a loss as to the exact cause of their illness. The April 8-10 meeting at the Baltimore Convention Center included representatives from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and food...

A mention of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), a potential 2016 presidential contender, brought boos from a conservative crowd in New Hampshire on Saturday. Speaking at the New Hampshire Freedom Summit, a gathering of conservative activists and figures organized by Americans for Prosperity and Citizens United, billionaire Donald Trump said Bush’s recent comments on immigrants coming to the U.S. as an “act of love” were “out there.”

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was surprised by a forthright expression of support for the Jewish state from Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting last month in Moscow, Israeli daily Ma’ariv reported on Friday. Netanyahu had flown to meet the Russian leader in a last minute effort to prevent an interim nuclear deal between Iran and world powers from being signed. During the meeting, Netanyahu asked Putin to withhold support for the convening of a Nuclear Non Proliferation Conference the stated purpose of which would be to rid the entire Middle East of nuclear weapons, according to the report....

Mark Levin spoke today at the 2013 Values Voter Summit and you can watch it below. Here’s a quick quote: “So when people say to me, what do you want to do, change the Constitution? HELL NO, I want to EMBRACE the Constitution!”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama used the power of her bully pulpit Wednesday to push food companies and television broadcasters to do more to promote healthier foods to children — and to do it faster. Research shows food marketing is a leading cause of childhood obesity because the ads and promotions lead impressionable kids to then pester their parents to eat what they saw on TV, consumer advocates say. The first lady cited a "cultural shift" taking place in America's eating habits, and highlighted as examples salad bars that are now in many school lunchrooms and kids' restaurant menus that...

The White House will announce today that a truce be called between DOJ and the failed conviction of that *%&$##@* White-Hispanic, George Zimmerman, by calling on both sides to meet at the White House Rose Garden for a few beers. It is said a few feathers got badly ruffled by the whole ordeal, especially since the weight of the government and the media lap dogs could not sway the general public to disregard fact and the law and convict on emotion alone. In essence, their strategy to ignite a raging fire across the land was unsuccessful, at least to the...

'Outreach summits' launched, 1st stop ChicagoA series of Muslim Outreach Summits are planned coast-to-coast by the Obama administration to get feedback from Muslims on how the government can better serve them and their specific desires. The president’s adopted home town of Chicago will be the first stop.

On the first day of Black history month, policy experts analyzed the current economic state of Black Americans during a summit at Howard University. One featured participant said President Obama, “does not deserve a pass anymore” regarding confronting Black issues head on and asked that the President “summon his courage” and “find his voice” on economic inequality in America. **SNIP** There has been discussion on what some refer to as a “cone of silence” over the Obama presidency regarding issues dealing with race and racial disparities in America. The Washington Monthly magazine featured Obama and race on their front cover...

Representatives from NFIB and the Chamber of Commerce said their organizations were not asked to attend, but representatives from some of the country’s largest unions, Change to Win and the United Steelworkers, will participate. The nation’s unemployment rate has climbed steadily throughout Mr. Obama’s presidency - from 7.6 percent in January to 10.2 percent in October - leading critics to question the effectiveness of unprecedented levels of government spending in his first 10 months in office. The administration may have snubbed business trade associations but invited more than a dozen chief executive officers of large and small businesses, including Rose...

Mrs L and I will be in the Loop tomorrow counter protesting the freaks who have been a gigantic pain in the ass to those of us who are trying to make a living. Let's show them who the 1% really are. Drop us a Freepmail if you are willing to join us.

Police say three protesters at the NATO summit in Chicago have been charged with terrorism conspiracy stemming from allegations that they planned to make Molotov cocktails. Chicago police Lt. Kenneth Stoppa told The Associated Press early Saturday that the three were being held on charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism, possession of an explosive or incendiary device and providing material support. He says they face a bond hearing later Saturday morning. Stoppa identified the men charged as 20-year-old Brian Church of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; 24-year-old Jared Chase of Keene, N.H.; and 24-year-old Brent Vincent Betterly of Oakland Park, Mass. …

A secretive network of left-wing billionaires and their political operatives descended on the luxurious Biltmore Hotel in Miami over the weekend to discuss strategy for the coming elections. The location of the conference had been kept a closely guarded secret by the members and guests of Democracy Alliance (DA), a collection of ultra-wealthy liberal donors formed in 2005, and is reported here in a Washington Free Beacon exclusive. Attendees roamed the grounds at the 150-acre tropical resort on their way to cocktail gatherings, salsa dance lessons, and workshops such as “Occupy the Voting Booth” and “The 1 Percent Rule.” Local...

The NATO Summit will be held on May 20th -21st in Chicago and the Illinois DOT is requesting everybody to avert the city areas and mainly the downtown and the South Loop during the Summit week. Some limitations are also going to be placed on excessive and overweight shipments. From May 18th -22nd excessive and overweight shipment would not be allowed on the expressway and ramps. [Read More....]

When the president’s former Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel (D, Wilmette) became Mayor of Chicago, many expected him to use his many Washington contacts to bring some big business his way, and he delivered. Mayor Richard M. Daley had sought to bring the Olympics to Chicago… no such luck. But Emanuel did indeed deliver, if on a slightly lesser scale: in his first year, he secured two big meetings for Chicago, the first, a G-20 conference, and the second, a NATO summit. The G-20 meeting was quietly pulled, under cover of darkness, to be held at Camp David instead (good...

... Barack Obama is among dozens of heads of state who are in Colombia for the Summit of the Americas.... While the U.S. president remains personally popular throughout the region, he faces growing discontent from his counterparts over a number of issues, including Washington's decades-long fight against the illicit drug trade... Washington's influence in Latin America has waned since the last summit in 2009, as the region increases its economic and diplomatic ties with emerging economies such as China and India.

Reports suggested that the misconduct involved prostitutes in Cartagena, site of the Summit of the Americas. A Secret Service spokesman did not dispute that. A US official said 12 officials were sent home. The agents were staying at Cartagena's Hotel Caribe, which is also hosting members of the White House staff and press corps during the summit A hotel employee said the agents arrived at the beachfront hotel about a week ago, and claimed they were drinking heavily during their stay. The employee said the agents left the hotel Thursday, a day before Obama and other regional leaders arrived for...

Chicago Loop on Lockdown During NATO, G8 SummitsBy Rachel Bogart | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 1 hr 31 mins ago According to the Chicago Sun-Times, during the NATO and G-8 summits this spring, a major security perimeter will take place downtown and prohibit motorist access to certain streets. Both summits will be expecting high-profile leaders, including President Barack Obama, and the lockdown of the downtown area will be led by the U.S. Secret Service. Ultimately, cutting off areas of downtown is a step to boost security, especially since Mayor Rahm Emanuel is estimating that the summits will draw thousands of...

(LEAD) N. Korean leader to meet Russian president in Siberia's Ulan Ude: source (ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more details) MOSCOW, Aug. 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il may begin his Russian visit on Saturday and is expected to hold summit talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in a Siberian city on Tuesday, an informed source here said. The Kim-Medvedev summit will take place at a military facility in Ulan Ude, said the source, noting an advance team from the Kremlin has already arrived in the third-largest city in eastern Siberia. The commander of the military unit has recently...

N. Korean leader's visit to Russia imminent: Seoul sources SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il will likely visit Russia soon, South Korean lawmakers said Friday, citing a report by the nation's intelligence agency. The National Intelligence Service reported during a parliamentary meeting earlier in the day that Kim's visit to Russia is "imminent," according to the lawmakers who attended the gathering.

Kim Jong-il's Train Stops Short of Russian Border An armored train believed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was spotted heading to the Russian border on Tuesday evening. Diplomatic sources in Seoul said U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials confirmed that the armored train left Pyongyang and headed toward Hamgyong Province, and Kim was expected to meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Vladivostok. But the train never crossed the border, according to a source. Kremlin spokeswoman Natalya Timakova Wednesday told reporters Medvedev would attend several events during his trip to Vladivostok but no summit was scheduled with Kim....

N. Korea, Russia call off summit talk plan: sources MOSCOW, June 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea and Russia appear to have canceled their plan to hold talks between their leaders later this week, multiple sources here said Tuesday following a series of media reports of the possibility of a trip to Russia by the North's leader, Kim Jong-il. "It's my understanding that a summit between Chairman Kim Jong-il and President Dmitry Mevedev was known to be scheduled to take place in Russia's Far Eastern region of Vladivostok on June 30 or July 1," a senior South Korean government source said....

Russia prepares for possible visit by N.Korea's Kim Mon Jun 27, 2011 12:06pm GMT VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, June 27 (Reuters) - Russian authorities are preparing for a possible visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, a local official in Russia's Far East said on condition of anonymity on Monday. "We are making preparations," said the local official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation. The official declined to give any details about the trip other than that Kim was expected to travel to Russia's Far East, which borders North Korea, in an armoured train. When...

Kim Jong-il 'to Meet Medvedev' North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev may meet next week in Vladivostok, PrimaMedia, a news agency for Russia's Far East, said Thursday. Medvedev "will visit Vladivostok between June 29 and July 1 to inspect preparations for the APEC Summit there next year and there is the possibility of a summit with North Korean leader Kim during the visit," PrimaMedia reported. "This has been confirmed by several sources." If the summit takes place, it would be the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries in nine years. Kim and Putin...

The U.S. Department of Education refused to allow reporters into break-out sessions at its first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Youth Summit, held at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Monday and Tuesday. When CNSNews.com asked organizers why reporters could not attend the break-out sessions, Education Department public affairs specialist Jo Ann Webb said: “Every summit we’ve had has been this way. It’s to promote an open exchange and that’s just the rule, okay?” CNSNews.com followed-up, asking, “Even though this is sponsored by the Department of Education and paid by federal tax dollars?” and Webb replied: “It’s been...

The Tea Party movement will be two years old in February! We’ve stunned the establishment once, imagine what we can do with the next 40 years! Join us February 25-27, 2011 - the second anniversary of the Nationwide Tea Party Protests. Help write the first pages of a new chapter in American history at the American Policy Summit - Pathways to Liberty. We believe it is every citizen’s duty to defend America’s founding principles. That’s why one of the Tea Party Patriots’ goals is to gain the support of 60% of American citizens for the three core values of Fiscal...

January 16, 2011 China Leader’s Limits Come Into Focus as U.S. Visit Nears By DAVID E. SANGER and MICHAEL WINES BEIJING — With President Hu Jintao at the helm, China has become a $5 trillion industrial colossus, a growing military force, and, it sometimes appears, a model of authoritarian decisiveness, navigating out of the global financial crisis and sealing its position as the world’s fastest rising power. But as Mr. Hu prepares to visit Washington this week in an attempt to defuse tensions with the United States, Obama administration officials are grappling with what they describe as a more complex...

UPDATE 4-Many business deals seen during U.S.-China summit Fri Jan 14, 2011 4:56pm EST * Deal signings expected in Washington and Chicago * U.S. business also wants progress on long-term concerns * Group eyes Chinese action on beef, software (Adds reaction, details of U.S.-China business meeting) By Doug Palmer WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao will bring new business deals and possible commitments to buy U.S. beef and software when he visits Washington next week, a U.S. business group said on Friday. "He will come with gifts," Myron Brilliant, senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of...

The Obama team on the ground at the NATO Summit in Portugal is flying home pleased. It has been, the president declared, "an extremely productive two days" in Lisbon. Indeed major goals for the future of Afghanistan and the relationship with Russia have been met. For the former, there will be an ongoing, integrated relationship, a continued flow of aid, assistance, and training. For the latter, Russia, there's been a "restart" of relations, on ice for the last two years. Europeans and Americans hope that the chilly period between the U.S. and Russia has ended and will be significantly warmer...

Obama's 'Slurpee summit' has convenience store salivating Washington, Nov 5 : Barack Obama seems to have a thing for naming summits after drinks. The makers of those beverages couldn't be happier. The US president jumped on a reporter's suggestion Wednesday that he call an upcoming meeting with top Democratic and Republican legislative leaders a "Slurpee summit" to hash out a way forward after Tuesday's elections, in which Obama's party suffered major losses in Congress. "They're delicious drinks," Obama quipped, joking that he might serve the popular slushed ice drinks at what is likely to be a frosty meeting between leaders...

/being my excerpts N. Korea Set up Special Unit to Disrupt G-20 Summit Kim Hyung-won N. Korea is drawing up 'emergency plans' to raise tension in Korean Peninsula during G-20 Summit period which is due to start on Nov. 11, and they include special force operation, according to Nov. 3 report of Radio Free Asia. Quoting sources in China, it said that Kim Jong-eun went to N. Korea's Reconnaissance Bureau and instructed Kim Yong-chol, the Bureau's head, to set up special force unit to carry out military provocation or terrorist attacks. The goal of N. Korea is said to convince...

Hu Jintao 'Declined Invitation to N.Korea' North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had hoped to see Chinese President Hu Jintao in Pyongyang for a summit rather than visit China again last week, a source claimed Thursday. Hu had accepted the invitation during Kim's last visit in May but decided such a visit would send the wrong signal amid international sanctions against the North after it sank the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan. A diplomatic source in Beijing familiar with North Korean affairs said Thursday, "Back in July, the North asked China if Hu could visit Pyongyang, but it seems China declined...

"What I'm interested in is taking action right now to help businesses create jobs right now, in the near term," the president said at the opening session of the White House jobs summit. ..."I'm confident that people like you -- who built thriving businesses or revolutionized industries or brought cities and communities together and changed the way we look at the world and innovated and created new products -- that you can come up with some additional good ideas on how to create jobs," he said. "I need everybody here to bring their 'A game' here today," Obama added, challenging...